CBS’s “NCIS” and “The Mentalist” were the number one- and number three-ranked primetime telecasts on broadcast TV for Tuesday, September 30, 2008.
ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was sandwiched between the two, in second place.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NCIS
CBS
17,470,000

2
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
15,491,000

3
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
15,484,000

4
HOUSE
FOX
12,978,000

5
WITHOUT A TRACE
CBS
12,611,000

6
LAW AND ORDER:SVU
NBC
10,391,000

7
FRINGE
FOX
9,906,000

8
BIGGEST LOSER 6
NBC
7,390,000

9
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
ABC
5,960,000

10
FUEGO EN LA SANGRE TUE
UNI
5,280,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 30, 2008).

Overall, CBS won the night with an average audience of almost 15.2 million viewers, while FOX took second place with almost 11.5 million average viewers. ABC and NBC claimed third and fourth places with roughly 8.8 …